Because of his father’s job situation, freshman high school student Kaoru Nishimi moves by himself from Yokosuka to Kyushu to live with relatives. Until then, Kaoru was an honor roll student who tended to keep to himself, but meeting notorious bad boy Sentaro Kawabuchi starts to change him. Through his devil-may-care classmate, Kaoru learns the attractions of jazz and finds the first person he can call a “friend”. He also discovers how much fun it is to play music with a pal.

Other characters include Sentaro’s kind childhood chum, Ritsuko, who is the daughter of a record shop owner; the mysterious upperclassman, Yurika; and Brother Jun, the much-admired leader among their peers. Set against the backdrop of a seaside town with a scent of American culture, this series is a drama about young people coming into their own, crossing each other’s paths, and finding friendship, love, and music!

Sentaro is a wild 1st-year high school student who meets incoming student Kaoru at Higashi High School. Sentaro is mistakenly thought of as a thug by his peers, who fear him. Though tall and gifted with prodigious physical strength, Sentaro is also straightforward and bighearted. He's the exact opposite of Kaoru, yet somehow they hit it off when Sentaro starts to share his boundless love for jazz. The drums are Sentaro's instrument of choice.

Ritsuko is a classmate of Kaoru and Sentaro and an old friend of the latter. This kind, always cheerful and charmingly-freckled high school freshman is also the poster girl for Welcome Records, her family's record shop. The basement of the shop has a practice studio that serves as a hang-out for Sentaro, Kaoru, her father, and assorted jazz cronies.

Kaoru is a brainy young main who moved during the summer of his first year in high school, from Yokosuka to his uncle's house in Kyushu. In fact, Kaoru has been moving from place to place ever since he was a little kid, a lifestyle that has made him introverted. But after Kaoru encounters Sentaro, he started to change, all while learning the joys of jazz. Kaoru has been familiar with classical music for many years and is quite the pianist, so naturally he's on piano.

I haven't fallen this hard for a show since Madoka last year. It reminds me heavily of Beck and Nodame Cantabile, as well, and the fact that I am a musician helps this show be more relatable. It's so beautiful and well-put-together that I'm now counting down the days until the next episode comes out.

This was great. I love the art style and the characters are really interesting.

They did an excellent job animating Sentarou's jazz drumming. That's something you don't see very often, so I'm glad they wanted to make the animation really match the music. And the music is great.

I'm looking forward to the next episode. Too bad there are only 12.

I'm curious why the title is translated to "Kids on the Slope". It's not a bad title. Maybe it is more appealing than "Hill Road's Apollo"? Still I think the English title misses out on the jazz & god pun, which seems appropriate for this show.

Watched the first episode and loved it which has been a while, only problem i have with it is that i would have liked the opening or the ending to have a jazz sound track i just didn't think they fit, kinda like Bebop did.

I felt the same way about the opening credits when I started watching it, but while jazz is clearly the main subject of the series, I felt like the intro music captured the flavor of the series, the relationships and what not.

I was also very impressed by the music animation. It appears Watanabe is bringing the same sensibilities he brought to his action scenes in Bebop and Samurai Champloo to the music scenes, rendering them with as much kinetic accuracy as a fight scene in his other works. The only thing that surprises me about it is that I was surprised. I always look for it, and am always disappointed. (I don't recall remarking on the accuracy in K-On, for example.) This time, I was not disappointed.

I think I'm seeing why this is classified as Jousei. Is it just me, or is there a bit of what the folks at TVTropes might call "Ho-yay" or perhaps even "Foe-yay" (that's stretching more than a bit) between Sentaro and Kaoru?

I just watched the first episode and I'm totally hooked! I love the animation but I like the characters the most...they are so refreshing and different from most animes. Definitely the best 2012 anime for me.

I just watched the first two eps, and I love it already. I wasnt going to watch it at first because it didnt really sound that interesting. But then I looked at the picture and clicked on the link to the show and saw the old-style art and started watching. The more I watched, the more I liked it.

Now Im sad that I have to wait a week to see more. :P

I really wish life was still as slow as it was back then... as much as I love technology Id rather have a peaceful slow life in a city like this one.

First two episodes have me hooked. Great characters and designs, the music goes without saying, and the story has a nice easy pace to it. It feels like it was written with adults in mind. There's no dumbing down, or titillating with cheap gimmicks, or lazy writing. Can't wait until the next episode.